The Prince has returned
The wait is finally over and Ubisoft has brought back some video game royalty; I am speaking of course about the Prince of Persia. The last time we got to spend time in Persia was in 2008 when the reboot occurred, sadly it didn’t take off and here we go again with a new Prince. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is in itself a bit of a reboot, and unlike past games where players controlled the titular Prince; in the Lost Crown though players will take on the role of Sargon one of Persia’s elite warriors who are known as The Immortals.
The game takes little time in kicking things off, after an introductory cutscene players are thrown into battle with their fellow Immortals. What follows is a quick tutorial where players get to meet the Immortals and are introduced to the Prince of Persia, Ghassan. After a victorious day the team is unwinding only to find that the prince has been taken and celebrations are cut short as everyone searches for his royal highness. This simple set up gives way to a fantastic, 30+ hour adventure game with a story that has all the curves of a snake. One of the thinks that I loved about this version of Prince, was the use of Persian mythology. Things like the simurgh, which is a benevolent bird from Persian myth and for a mythology nerd like me I loved discovering these new myths and Gods.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
It is these myths that also give Sargon his various powers that are featured throughout the game. Most of which are used for navigating the labyrinth that is the cursed Mount Qaf and all of which are easy and fluid in their animations. The usual suspects like a double jump and a forward dash are here but some cool powers like the ability to throw a glaive and then teleport to its location. Once Sargon starts acquiring these abilities players can combine them all to do some pretty incredible combat maneuvers but more importantly, they will be able to navigate the environment with ease.
Mount Qaf is a huge map that players will get to explore. Just as you would expect form a metroidavania this world is broken up in to parts that are clearly labeled on the map. Expect to run into things and areas that aren’t accessible at the onset due to Sargon not having the ability yet. One of the things that helps with this is the ability to leave a marker on the map. Holding down on the d-pad will take a screenshot and create a marker on players map, so you don’t have to memorize what you need to get through an area, players can just go back and look at the picture. As an old man this saved me A LOT and I hope this becomes a standard in metroidvania games, if even an optional one.
I talked about how fluid all of Sargons powers feel to use and this sense of fluidity translates over to combat as well. The animations in Prince of Persia the Lost Crown are some of the very best I have seen, Sargon moves with all the grace of an angel but fights like a demon. Little things like his backflip animation, or the slight when coming to a stop from sprinting full speed just made me smile every time, I noticed it. Speaking of his sprint, Sargon has a kick move that he can use from a sprint that will send smaller enemies flying and larger ones off balance. Players can attack enemies’ legs to knock them down and even upward slash them into the air, where they can unleash a flurry of moves. Combat works best when your opponent is either airborne and helpless or constantly being knocked off guard. However, there are some enemies who can parry and block attacks just like Sargon and these opponents can sometimes feel like mini-bosses at times but the combat is so sweet I never once ran from a fight. And that’s before we even talk about these boss fights, truly some of the best bosses I have fought in years. While there are some cheap attacks from a few of them, the graphical spectacle of the clash of titans between Sargon and his enemy made it so I didn’t mind that I had fought the same boss 4 times already.
At the heart of Prince of Persia games is platforming and puzzles and the Lost Crown doesn’t skimp on either. While I have issue with the fact that it brought back my PTSD from pillars of spinning blades and spikes thanks to having escaped Hades in the original God of War game, I will say I managed to clear more of these than I left unsolved. These environmental puzzles are where players will utilize Sargon’s assortment of powers to dodge spikes, acid and a bunch of horrible things that mean to do our hero in. This is another area where I really want to give the developers props because they managed to find a balance with these puzzles and even the secrets, because even when I failed them, I was motivated to go back and complete it the next time.
There aren’t a lot of negatives that I have for this game, its that freaking good. Up until my last few hours I had no issues with glitches or bugs but towards the end I ended up hard locking twice and had some weird graphical glitches and animations during one of the final boss fights. I didn’t lose any progress or anything, it was just off putting after having experienced this game running perfectly up until this point. One of the other issues which is really just me nit-picking is the voice over work for a few of the side characters are rough. They just sound like the person rushed or just didn’t feel like recording, which is a shame because the main cast are all fire, especially Sargon who really does a great job of holding this story down. Lastly, and I say this all the time but… whoever decided that this ‘Killmonger’ haircut was the ‘IT’ hairstyle for black men in video games; they need to be stopped. I am so tired of this hairstyle… sigh.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is hands down the best metroidvania that I have played in a long time. My gold standard has always been Castlevania: Symphony of the Night but Ubisoft has really knocked this out of the park. As a long time, fan of the series, I was elated to see the first trailer for this game and am so glad that the team stuck the landing. Sargon is a fantastic character in this universe and I for one am so proud of the fact that he is black and leading this game. I know that some people are upset at not playing as the prince but to those folks I just want to say give this game a chance, if you are a fan of the Prince of Persia series, I can almost guarantee that this game will make you smile. And after the banner year that video games had in 2023, it bodes well for 2024 that the first big game out the gate is as fantastic as Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
